


just to be seen by your eyes

by LailaLiquorice



Series: I'll hide you in my poetry { parrlyn oneshots } [6]
Category: Six - Marlow/Moss
Genre: Alcohol, Angst, Drunkenness, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, F/F, Fluff, Sad with a Happy Ending, Self-Hatred, anne is a sad bean, aragon is best mum, cathy is best girlfriend, give cathy parr all the gold stars
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-02
Updated: 2019-07-02
Packaged: 2020-06-02 18:45:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,578
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19447369
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LailaLiquorice/pseuds/LailaLiquorice
Summary: Anne comes home drunk and distraught over ghosts from her past, and Cathy steps in to pick up the pieces.





	just to be seen by your eyes

It wasn’t that unusual for Cathy not to join the other queens when they went out for drinks after the show. The only two who nearly always went without fail were Anne and Anna, everyone else had their days when they just wanted to cosy up on the sofa or in bed after a long day being on their feet. Jane usually came home if someone else wanted to so they’d never feel bad about ditching, Kat loved their pub nights but would have to back down if she was feeling too anxious, Aragon’s headaches meant that sometimes she just couldn’t face the noisy pub, and Cathy tended not to go whenever she was so intent on finishing a project that she knew she’d hardly pay attention to the conversation if she did go with them. Today was one of those days, and she’d just kissed Anne and made her promise to check in when she got back before she and Jane set off for home.

But Cathy found herself wishing she had gone with them when she heard the door open and Aragon call out her name with an unmissable tone of urgency.

Rushing down the stairs, she was confronted by the drunkest Anne she had possibly ever seen. She was swaying precariously even while Anna and Aragon held her upright, and when she looked at Cathy there were thick mascara trails down both cheeks. A very anxious looking Kat was hovering just behind them, clearly worried by her cousin’s inebriated state.

“What happened?” was Cathy’s first question, cupping Anne’s jaw gently and smiling at the faint spark of recognition in her eyes.

Anna shook her head. “I wish I knew. She was fine all night until she went to the bar for a refill then came back sobbing.”

“She was drinking more than usual though,” Kat piped up quietly, and they all turned to look at her wringing her hands nervously. “She never goes through that many drinks that quickly. Especially not when I’m there without Jane.”

“I noticed that too but assumed she was just having a good time,” Aragon added, her voice heavy. Glancing at Anne who was by then hanging her head and sagging in her arms, she asked “Do you want help getting her up the stairs?”

Cathy nodded, knowing that she alone would have no hope in getting Anne to her bedroom when she was a good few inches taller than her. “Thank you. Just take her to my room, don’t bother with the second staircase,” she said.

As Anna and Aragon started up the stairs, Cathy paused to pull Kat into a hug before following on behind them. Once Anne was safely sat on Cathy’s bed, Anna and Kat left towards Jane’s room while Aragon lingered for a moment longer. “Let me know if I can help at all, please,” she insisted, placing a hand on Cathy’s shoulder as she looked at her intently.

“I will. Thanks Catherine,” said Cathy, giving her godmother a grateful smile. It was obvious to her that Aragon cared for Anne more than she would ever care to admit, from the worry in her eyes as she watched Anne over Cathy’s shoulder to how firm her arms had been while Anne had leaned into her side. Aragon squeezed Cathy’s shoulder with a hollow smile before she carefully shut the door behind her.

Once it was just the two of them, Cathy noted with concern how Anne was just staring blankly at the wall as she walked over and knelt down in front of her. “Hey sweetheart,” she said, watching as Anne’s eyes slowly flickered to look at her. “How are you doing?”

Anne shrugged, fresh tears spilling down her cheeks as Cathy gently took her hands. “’m drunk,” she slurred, swaying even while seated.

“I can see that, love,” Cathy said, giving her a sad smile. “What’s going through that pretty head of yours, hmm?”

At first she was worried that Anne was going to just shrug again, before she started to speak slowly. “It’s nearly Bess’ birthday,” she mumbled, and already Cathy could feel her heart breaking. “’nd I saw a woman show someone a picture of her baby. She had ginger hair, like Bess did.” She trailed off there, her faraway look returning as the tears fell faster.

Cathy moved to sit beside her as she started to cry harder, wrapping her arms around Anne’s shoulders to pull her close to her chest. “It’s ok to cry,” she whispered in Anne’s ear, rocking her slightly as she sobbed. “It’s ok to miss her. You should have had so much more time with her and it’s ok to be upset.”

“I didn’t- I didn’t see her grow up,” Anne choked out between desperate breaths. “All I’ve got is stupid portraits, I wanted to see her.”

“It’s ok,” Cathy repeated, leaning forwards to rest her head against Anne’s as if she was trying to physically shield her from the rest of the world while she cried.

Once Anne’s shuddering had calmed a little, Cathy leaned back and gently guided Anne’s head up to look at her with a gentle finger beneath her chin. Eyeliner and green glitter was smudged around her bloodshot eyes in addition to the mascara that ran in rivers down her cheeks, and Cathy knew she’d need to clean everything off before she could get Anne to sleep. “Hold still for a second,” she said as she pried herself out of Anne’s arms, kissing her forehead quickly before she hurried to find her makeup remover.

Anne was practically listless as Cathy gently wiped the makeup off her face, only vaguely responding to Cathy’s requests for her to close her eyes or tilt her head slightly. After several minutes of quiet she suddenly said “Dunno why I’m even complaining, you don’t even get portraits of your Mary.”

Cathy’s hand stilled for a moment. She would have been lying if she’d denied feeling a flash of jealousy as Anne spoke of wanting more than portraits of Elizabeth, but she’d shoved the feeling down immediately in order to comfort her girlfriend. She’d loved Elizabeth too, and if she missed the fiery young girl she’d done her best to protect then she couldn’t imagine how her mother would be feeling. She could never hate Anne for wanting more.

Clearly interpreting Cathy’s momentary silence as agreement, Anne clumsily pushed Cathy away and turned to face the other direction. “’m sorry ‘m so selfish,” she groaned, her breathing getting faster and shallower as she became more distraught. “So stupid, ‘m so stupid.”

“Anne, no-“

“No,” Anne ploughed on over Cathy’s interruption, flinching away from the hand Cathy placed on her shoulder. “Why d’you even put up with me? Why d’you deal with my nightmares ‘nd panicking ‘nd everything? You shouldn’t have to deal with me.”

Cathy just wanted to hold her tight enough to chase away all her doubts, but she knew that her reassurances would likely fall on deaf ears with how far down Anne had already spiralled. “Listen to me sweetheart,” she said, moving to kneel back on the floor in front of her again. “I don’t deal with you, because that’s not how people who love each other interact. I think you were dealt with the whole of your last life. I’m not dealing with you, I’m choosing you.”

Anne’s eyes were wide and afraid as she finally looked Cathy in the eye. “Sorry,” she said again, sniffling a little as she continued in a broken voice. “’m sorry ‘bout what I said. Do you even still love me?”

“Yes,” Cathy said without hesitation, sitting up on her knees to cup Anne’s cheek with her hand and wipe away her tears. “Yes, I love you so much and I always will. And I’ll never be angry at you for wanting more of Bess. I wish we both had more – just because you had more time with her than I had with Mary doesn’t mean you have no right to be hurting.

Anne hummed quietly with acknowledgement, giving the weight of her head into Cathy’s hand as her eyes slid shut. Cathy let out a quiet sigh of relief that she’d managed to get through to her at last.

“Let’s get you to bed,” she said after a moment of just watching her girlfriend, knowing that she was coming close to falling asleep where she sat. Anne nodded without opening her eyes, holding out her arms as Cathy stood and gently guided her into bed. She didn’t bother trying to get her changed into pyjamas, as her t-shirt and leggings would be comfy enough to sleep in and Cathy had already got changed herself before the others got home.

Once they were both laid down in Cathy’s bed, Anne didn’t hesitate before wrapping her arm over Cathy’s stomach and tangling their legs together as she rested her head on Cathy’s chest. Cathy gently played with Anne’s hair until her breathing evened out and she fell asleep, grabbing her phone from her bedside table and typing out a quick text to Aragon to let her know that everything was ok. Then she turned out her bedside light, rested her arm on Anne’s, and closed her eyes.

Come the morning she would need a lot of water and painkillers to get through the inevitable hangover, but for the moment they could just sleep peacefully in each other’s arms.

**Author's Note:**

> The fourth of the seven anon prompts: “Do you even still love me?” No name attached but parrlyn parrlyn parrlyn.
> 
> Here is some sad parrlyn. It’s sad. Sad but soft and has a happy ending so no panics. I wanted to write some sad Boleyn angst because i usually batter her in some way so here it’s just sad. But Cathy deserves all of the gold stars because she is an actual angel. Aragon is a worried mum about her green daughter and Kat is a worried little sister and I love them all. 3 prompts to go and at least one possibly two won't be parrlyn so you'll get a little bit of variety lol.
> 
> I'm lailaliquorice on tumblr :)


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